Ethereum vs Ethereum Classic | What is the difference between ETH and ETC

Introduction

Ethereum is the most invested crypto after Bitcoin. It has a market cap of around $300 billion and is currently in the process of transitioning into Ethereum 2.0, which aims to improve the already feature-rich blockchain in multiple ways. However, there exists another crypto known as Ethereum Classic, which supports much of the functionality of Ethereum but has a market cap of only $6.78 billion. So what is Ethereum Classic, and how does it differ from the Ethereum we know and love? Let’s find out.

Origin of Ethereum Classic

Ethereum was launched back in 2015, and everything was going fine until a major hack in 2016 resulted in $50 million worth of funds being stolen. The blockchain we call today, Ethereum, was born as a result of a hard fork to secure the network and return the stolen funds to the owners. The original chain continued as Ethereum Classic, and its coin became ETC.

Ethereum vs. Ethereum Classic (There’s a clear winner)

Both Ethereum and Ethereum Classic offer smart-contract functionality. Smart Contracts are self-executing agreements that get automatically ratified if the terms and conditions of the contract are met. In fact, this functionality catapulted Ethereum to success and forms the basis of NFTs and DeFi applications.

Even though Ethereum Classic supports smart contracts, its security concerns still leave people wary of developing applications using the platform. In this regard, Ethereum is the clear winner. Moreover, Ethereum Classic isn’t very scalable. The blockchain only supports 15 transactions per second, which is a far cry from traditional monetary systems like the kind facilitated by Visa, which can process over a thousand transactions/second.

While the current Ethereum blockchain doesn’t do that much better now, the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade promises to push the blockchain’s performance to match Visa. Such massive upgrades aren’t possible on Classic due to the nature of the chain.

A combination of security concerns and low scalability means that Ethereum Classic doesn’t attract too many investors. More importantly, such currencies will never be considered for inclusion in financial products such as securities, stocks, or bonds. Ethereum, on the other hand, was recently approved by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) for futures trading. The only other crypto that you can buy derivatives of is Bitcoin. You can buy both at gate.io.

So why invest in Ethereum Classic?

While Ethereum Classic is clearly an inferior product, that doesn’t mean it’s dead. There is a dedicated team behind the project that continues to push updates to the network. So even though DeFi products will be built more using Ethereum, ETC will continue serving as a digital store of value, much like Bitcoin.

Conclusion

As an investor, you can invest your money in either of these currencies. During the latest bull-run, ETC’s value rose in tandem with ETH and had lower prices; some may have even profited more from investing in ETC. However, as a long-term investment, ETH is certainly the better bet.

Both ETC and ETH can be traded on gate.io. which is an all-in-one crypto trading platform that offers a wide range of tools to ease your foray into the investment realm. Whether it is futures you want to buy or simply looking for an exchange featuring every reputable crypto you can think of, gate.io has you covered.

Author: Gate.io Researcher Zander

*This article only represents the views of the researcher and does not constitute as any investment advice.

*Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all other cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement.